Self-exclusion from betting shops, casinos, bingo and arcades

GAMSTOP blocks online gambling only. If you also bet in high-street bookmakers, visit casinos, play bingo in a club or use arcades, each of those has its own self-exclusion scheme, and you need to join each one separately. This guide explains what each scheme covers, how to join, how long it lasts and what happens if you go back while excluded. It covers Great Britain.

How land-based self-exclusion differs from GAMSTOP

The Gambling Commission (opens in a new tab) explains that multi-operator schemes let you make one request to self-exclude from the same type of land-based gambling in your area, while GAMSTOP lets you self-exclude from online operators with one request. So there is one scheme per type of premises. Some, such as Gamstop Betting Shops, cover the shops you choose near you; others, such as SENSE and BISES, cover the whole of Great Britain.

The Commission’s rules require every non-remote casino, bingo and betting licence holder (except betting at tracks) and every adult gaming centre operator to offer customers who self-exclude the chance to exclude from the same kind of gambling offered nearby by other operators, by taking part in a multi-operator scheme (social responsibility code 3.5.6 (opens in a new tab)).

Betting shops: Gamstop Betting Shops

Gamstop Betting Shops (opens in a new tab), previously known as MOSES, launched in 2016 and is run by a not-for-profit company, the Multi-Operator Self-Exclusion Scheme Ltd. It is free.

1. Call 0800 294 2060. The service is telephone-based; you cannot self-exclude by email. You will be asked which areas you visit or are likely to visit, taking account of where you live, work and socialise, and the team uses a mapping tool to add the betting shops there to your exclusion.
2. Send ID and a photo. You provide a copy of photographic ID (passport or driving licence) and a clear, up-to-date photo of your face, by post or email. The team circulates your exclusion and photo to the bookmakers, which pass it to the shops.
3. Allow time to take effect. The scheme’s terms (opens in a new tab) say your exclusion does not start until the photo is received and ID checks are done, and that it may take up to 10 working days.

Things to know:

• It covers the named premises on your exclusion, not every betting shop in Britain. You can call to add more shops at any time.
• The exclusion lasts a fixed 12 months, and you cannot remove it before then.
• If you give details of online, telephone or betting shop accounts with a named operator or its group during the call, those accounts are closed for the exclusion period and remaining funds returned.
• If staff identify you in a named shop, you will be asked to leave and refused service. Some operators may use facial recognition, but only if you consent, and you can withdraw that consent without affecting the exclusion.
• The terms say any bets inadvertently accepted in a named shop will stand, win or lose.
• After 12 months, you stay excluded for a further six months unless you renew or ask to return. Renewing extends it by another 12 months. A request to return has a 24-hour cooling-off period, and it can take up to 10 working days for all operators to be told.

Casinos: SENSE

SENSE (opens in a new tab) (Self Enrolment National Self Exclusion) covers all licensed land-based casinos in Great Britain. You cannot use it to exclude from just one casino; for that, SENSE says to ask the operator about its own exclusion, though it recommends excluding from all casinos if you are doing this because of a gambling problem.

• Joining: ask a manager at any casino (you do not need to enter the gaming area), or enrol online or through the SENSE app with a government-issued ID document and a head-and-shoulders photo. SENSE says copies of ID are deleted once it has used them to identify you.
• How long: a minimum of six months, which you can extend to up to a year. After that comes a six-month “thinking” period, when you can renew or ask to be removed. If you do nothing, the exclusion expires at the end of that period.
• No early exit: SENSE describes enrolment as a binding agreement; you cannot be removed before your minimum or extended period ends, under any circumstances.
• Arcades are not casinos: SENSE says high-street machine arcades that use the word “casino” on their signs are not covered. Use the arcade schemes instead.
• Online casinos are not covered: those are covered by GAMSTOP.
• If you get in while excluded: SENSE says that under its terms you would not be entitled to unpaid winnings or a refund of losses from that visit.

Bingo: BISES

The Bingo Association (opens in a new tab) runs the Bingo Industry Self-Exclusion Scheme, which covers licensed land-based bingo premises across Great Britain.

• The quickest way is to go to your local bingo club. If you would rather not visit, you can phone the club, or contact it through its website, to arrange exclusion without going in. The Bingo Association can give you a club’s phone number.
• The operator will talk you through the consequences of self-exclusion. You then sign a digital form and supply a digital image of yourself; exclusions cannot be processed without the image.
• Your details go on a secure national database of people excluded from licensed bingo premises.
• BISES does not cover online bingo. For that, contact the website’s operator or register with GAMSTOP.

Arcades: BACTA and SmartEXCLUSION

The Commission lists two schemes for arcades. Through BACTA you can exclude, in person at the premises, from adult gaming centres, high-street arcades, motorway service areas and family entertainment centres with age-controlled sections in your area. SmartEXCLUSION covers adult gaming centres across Great Britain, as well as motorway service areas and holiday parks; you can register in a venue. For either, the Commission gives the number 01482 441 142, option 1.

What every licensed venue must do

Whichever scheme you use, the Commission’s codes of practice (opens in a new tab) for premises (codes 3.5.1 and 3.5.2) set the baseline:

• take all reasonable steps to refuse you service, and remove you if you are found in the gambling area or trying to gamble
• keep a register of people excluded, normally with photo identification and a signature
• stop sending you marketing, and remove you from marketing databases within two days
• close your customer accounts and return any funds in them
• point you to counselling and support services.

As good practice, the codes also say you should be able to self-exclude without going into gambling premises and to discuss it in private where possible. The minimum period offered should be six to 12 months, extendable in steps of at least six months. When it ends, the exclusion should stay in place for a further six months unless you take positive action to gamble again, by phone or in person, followed by a one-day cooling-off period.

It is still your commitment

Gamstop Betting Shops puts it plainly: responsibility for sticking with self-exclusion lies with you, but you can expect operators to do all they reasonably can to stop you gambling. Its terms describe exclusion as voluntary and say you agree not to enter the named shops, or to ask someone else to go in on your behalf. Adding more layers helps:

• GAMSTOP for online sites and apps
• a bank gambling block and blocking software on your devices
• free support from the National Gambling Helpline: 0808 8020 133 (England and Scotland). In Wales, the NHS All-Wales Gambling Helpline is also free and 24-hour: 0808 2819 265. Gamstop Betting Shops can transfer your call to the National Gambling Helpline.

If someone close to you is gambling in shops or venues, you cannot sign them up yourself: SENSE, for example, says it accepts applications only from the person concerned, and that it must be their own decision. GamCare’s helpline can support you; see worried about someone else’s gambling.